Here’s a little story I wanted to share today…. Maybe it will help you in the future with an animal or answer some questions you may have as to what to do with an injured animal.

Or maybe, because you are reading this, you either have a soft spot for animals or you may be a “little crazy”. (Only in a good way of course!) and would like more information on how to help injured wildlife.

The story starts….We still have beautiful white fresh snow covering our roads. It was for this reason that I was able to clearly see a rabbit (later determined to be an Eastern Cottontail) who was in trouble…. It looked like he had a hurt back leg. OHHH…. What should I do? What would you do? What is the right thing to do for this animal? He kept trying to get up the snow covered embankments…. I just knew I couldn’t drive away and “let nature take its course” …. So carefully, I got out of my car. The bunny tried moving away from me but he didn’t get far…. I went back to my car and got my “animal emergency kit”. (Just named today…)

It just so happened that my 31 bag “CFC” bag was in the back and it came in handy to put, get the bunny into. He pretty much got in himself and I had an old towel as well that I used to keep him warm. Once we were quickly situated, I dialed my local wildlife rescue, Howell Nature Center and told them I was coming. I asked if I did the right thing…. and quick answer was, YES!

The outcome? Well, I’m not sure as of yet…. But I am confident the little guy will be ok. They had given him something for his leg and asked me to call back later today.

After this rescue today, I’ll need to get my rescue kit back in order. In it, I keep… the staples…old receiving blankets… (I don’t have the heart to throw them away because I’m sentimental, but what a great way to reuse and re-purpose something special for a great reason), dog treats and a lease.

What I have learned from today’s experience as I’m sure it will happen again, BE PREPARED. It was great having the phone number saved and having supplies in the car. I also wanted to include information on helping wildlife in this post… I borrowed the following from Howell Nature & Conference Center

Here are a few tips. Remember this info has been provided by an organization in Michigan. Please Google the wildlife center closest to you!

“If you have taken in an injured animal, keep it warm in a quiet place away from people and pets until you have contacted a licensed rehabilitator. Thanks for caring about the animals.

If you believe you have found an injured or orphaned wild animal:

In most cases, young or baby animals should be left alone. If you are not sure if human intervention is necessary, call our wildlife clinic at 517-548-5530 during operating hours.

Operating Hours

Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Saturday -Sunday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

If you have taken in an injured animal outside of these hours, keep it warm in a dark, quiet place away from people and pets until you can reach us. Leave us a brief message with your name and phone number. Another available resource is the Michigan Department of Natural Resource’s website, www.michigandnr.com/dlr, which contains a list of the State’s licensed wildlife rehabilitators organized by county.

REMEMBER:

It is illegal for anyone to keep or care for wild birds and mammals without state and federal permits.

The Howell Conference & Nature Center accepts most species of Michigan wildlife.
We cannot accept raccoons, starlings, bats, house sparrows, pigeons, or skunks.
However, please call our wildlife clinic for advice for any of these animals.
We do not take domestic pets or farm animals.

Thank you all to my Cruelty Free Consumers! Have a great day.

Do you keep a kit of sorts in your car? How have you helped an animal before?

I am a business owner and (a blogger in the making). I left a corporate job in 2011 to be at home with my daughter and the 2nd one which was on the way. (Yet…Bills still need to be paid, right?)

AND, I AM A CRUELTY FREE CONSUMER.

In short, 2006…. Life happens and things get real, and you start looking at things differently and in a more compassionate way…. it was in the summer of this year that I decided to entirely stop using products that were tested on animals. It was hard to find these certified brands. So….Fast forward… Cruelty Free Consumer was born. Why? Because I thought that perhaps, I could provide a service for people looking for the same things. Compassionate, Cruelty free Shopping.

Notebooks and million of scratch pieces of paper later….I came up with our name – Cruelty Free Consumer. Our logo was created, the blog was launched, Facebook was up and I had 20 companies ready to work with me once we launched our retail site.

September 2011…. Cruelty Free Consumer.com was official. CFC was launched. We are a retail website that is dedicated to only selling Leaping Bunny certified brands. That is our niche. Our “North Star”.

Cruelty Free Consumer.com is my business because I believe in helping animals and helping consumers find, locate and purchase certified cruelty free (or not tested on animals) products and brands. You see, when you use/buy cruelty free products, you are helping animals. Why? It’s simple. When you use/buy cruelty free brands, you are telling those brands you support what they do. How? Sales revenue. On the flip side, if you stop purchasing brand “x” who does conduct testing…. they will start to see a drop in sales and the goal is for them to take a long hard look at what their practices are. The goal is to end unnecessary animal testing.

Until then, purchase from companies who don’t test on animals….*** I promise you will discover some fantastic products!!!!****

Crazy Rumors…. Is one of the first companies we started working with in 2011! We are so happy to be partnered with this amazing brand…. they are fun and offer a fantastic product… (As it says in their tagline… naturally fun products!)

Fun for my girls too as they are always wanting to try the latest “Flavor’ … the biggest challenge is teaching a 2.5 year old not to roll it (the lip balm) all the way up! Oh… the lessons!!!!

So yes…Crazy Rumors is our featured company this week! Learn about them and what they do for the animals as well! You’ll find them at Crueltyfreeconsumer.com. They also have received tons of national media & press coverage!

Here we go! Thanks to Edie for her story contribution below to our blog!!!
“Crazy Rumors was a concept my husband Brian and I came up with while hanging out in a local coffee/tea house what seemed like ages ago (2003). We loved the look and feel it evoked, and thought how much fun it would be to take these elements and incorporate them into an awesome product! That was the birth of our first babies (before the kitties) Perk and Brew – our coffee and tea flavored lip balms!

Did you know before making our first batch of balms, we experimented with soap making. It was a bit messy, but the Tangerine Oatmeal soap was just awesome!
Maybe we’ll try it again one day! :)

The love of our packaging, branding and design, and of course formulation and flavoring is why our customers keep coming back for more! Our products are unique by incorporating fun and fresh into the natural realm. Today, we have grown from 12 flavors to over 40! Some of our awesomely unique flavors include: Sweet Thai Tea, Red Velvet Cake and even a vegan Honey (we call Bee My Honey) We even have a beautiful line of Hawaiian inspired line of lip colors! Our high quality, super moisturizing ingredients make our products fabulous. We only use the best of the best plant based all natural, non – GMO and vegan ingredients. We’ve had the same customers carry our products since day one, and we’re super proud of it!

Thanks for checking us out! (Smooches! Edie & Brian)”

Edie, Brian thank you again for your partnership! We are so thrilled to be able to offer the Crazy Rumors brand to our Cruelty Free Consumers!

Oh by the way… since we know all of you are following us… you can probably assume what comes next… YES! A Crazy Rumors giveaway! Watch next week for details!

REMEMBER…USE THESE CODES WHEN CHECKING OUT AT http://www.crueltyfreeconsumer.com:
FREE SHIP with orders over $50
3.95SHIP on orders under $50.
Enjoy the day and please do your part so the animals can enjoy theirs!

This week our focus is on a newly discovered company and I’m in love! The products offered by “A Girl’s Gotta Spa!”are absolutely amazing just as Shannon had told us! We love her story and being a mom myself…. I can certainly relate!

Below is Shannon’s story from A Girl’s Gotta Spa!…

The concept of A Girl’s Gotta Spa! began 9 years ago this October.
I was 31 years old at the time and a mother of 3 sons (with another to be the apple of my eye in the not so distant future.) I had recently left working in the mental health field, which was both rewarding and taxing, and moved from the suburbs of Philadelphia to the rural surroundings of the Pocono Mountains. The idea of taking time for myself was not a foreign concept; however it is typically quite a dichotomy. On the one hand you have people telling you that you need some me time, “Take some time for yourself,” they’d say, “You deserve it.” Then, on the other hand, you have people asking you and accusing you of being selfish for doing so.

I believe you deserve to be pampered.

A Girl’s Gotta Spa! ® was built on the belief that your personal well-being should be a priority. A Girl’s Gotta Spa! is a call to action, whether you are young or old, regardless of ethnicity or creed, working in the corporate world or busy raising the next generation of responsible leaders, you deserve to treat yourself daily.
I truly believe this and whether you are worn and withered from your career, your children, your spouse, your friendships, your finances and any other circumstance in your life (the good and the bad), I want you to believe it too.

Pamper: To indulge with every intention, comfort and kindness.

A Girl’s Gotta Spa! bath and body line is one that is natural and cruelty free. Nowhere in our mission is there room for animal cruelty of any kind. We’re proud to now be among a prestigious list of beauty companies who also hold this same value with our Leaping Bunny certification.

A Girl’s Gotta Spa! is free of sulfates, formaldehyde, petrochemicals, synthetic colors and fragrances. Our Energizing Citrus Body Wash and Energizing Citrus Body Lotion are both vegan. Crafted in small batches, the purity and quality of the ingredients will be an elucidation to your dry skin care woes and satiate your senses.

Energizing Citrus is an invigorating mix of pink grapefruit, lemon, lime and orange. The fragrance is not overwhelming, but more subtle in the sense that you can clearly distinguish each essential oil as you apply the products. The Body Wash will leave your skin hydrated and silky smooth, while the Body Lotion will leave skin looking and feeling soft and healthy.

So I encourage you, take time for yourself today. Know that you are worth it. Know that you deserve to be pampered.

Thank you Shannon, we are so thrilled to be associated with you and your brand!

Next week, you will have the chance to win these 2 products to pamper yourself! Be watching via Facebook, Twitter and this blog for details as to how to enter!

Friday was a regular day except my husband was home and we had a babysitter… So we went out to run errands….we came home and he came up to me and said you should see the cat…He’s acting funny. Louie is my 14 year old tuxedo kitty and so yes, at about 4:30pm, I saw it too and he was having what I guess was a seizure. It had never happened before.
I have thought about what would happen and what I would do when my pets got old or sick…what decision would I make? I have also thought it would not be fair to keep them alive if they were in pain… But I am not them…so how do I know if they are in pain or not??
My Louie, aka, “Louie love bug”,”Louie long arms” and “Lou-Lou” passed on Friday night. He had seizure after seizure between 4:30pm and 6pm. I made my mind up that after the first one, I would let him rest and re-evaluate in the morning but when I checked on him in his favorite spot…. I knew it was his time.

I am so sad because he was my buddy for over 14 years. That is a lot of time for creating memories.

Over the last few months, he sat with me at night and also jumped up in to bed with me. Silly to some, but I love that cat and I am missing his presence, there is a definite void in the house. The crazier thing…. Or not…. Is how Teddy and Bernie, (our dogs) especially Bernie, is reacting. Bernie knows his buddy is not here and that is so sad to me too. Bernie is just moping around. Do animals have feelings? You bet and this is just another example of just how much they do feel.
I keep thinking I’m going to see him at the top of my stairs. I keep forgetting that I don’t need to go downstairs at night to clean litter and check his food and water.
I knew the time would come, I just didn’t expect it on Friday and I didn’t think it would happen so incredibly fast. In fact, I bought food for him just the day before. I do believe he didn’t suffer…. And for that I am glad for him…. but sad for me, my family and my other pets who all miss him. Louie was spunky and quirky and had such soulful eyes… he looked like he was so young still, his fur was beautiful and soft. He had a good life. I just can’t believe how fast he went. I miss him but as my daughters said good bye to him as I left for the vet with him wrapped in my favorite sweatshirt, “Lilly” said, “mommy, don’t be sad, God will take good care of him just like he takes care of the other kitties”. Oh, the words and thoughts of a 4 year old. Again.
And as for the 2 year old…. her contribution every time we see a black and white kitty…”ohh, Louie, sad”, followed by her sad face.

The loss of a pet is such a sad time… it has been 3 weeks and I still think I see him in the house.

We love you Louie and we miss you! Thank you for the wonderful memories!

We have decided that we will make a contribution in Louie’s name to the ASPCA. It is our hope that it will help other animals live betters lives.

I’m curious to learn if you have made a decision to make a contribution to an organization in your pets name,and if so, who. Or if you have done something else in the memory of your beloved pet.

All I can say is…I’m glad that cruelty free products aren’t expensive… or don’t have to be…..

My four year old daughter reminded me of that just over the weekend. Yep…My darling mixed all of my scrubs in the shower.

This real life story happened early Sunday morning and made me happy for that! She said “Look mom! It’s pink!” As I see her little hand coming out of the shower holding something…. “I made it for you… It’s your favorite color!”

Whew…. Never expected that first thing in the morning!

I thought oh no…. She couldn’t have…. No, please, don’t tell me….yep… She mixed my products! My lovebug was so excited to show me her creation ….I just had to smile and laugh to myself. I want her to be kind and thoughtful… and in her mind, was she ever!… She was so proud of herself and talked about it all day!

She had concocted a mixture of , Giovanni Mint Lemonade Cooling Salt Scrub, Body Shops Mango Scrub, Bulldog Shave Cream, and several others!
Wow! I’m just glad not all of my stuff was in there!

But, as I have been thinking about blogging and things to write about….. I have to give a lot of credit to a very imaginative, very fun and very energetic girl, my daughter, who has given me great and real “material!”

Thanks for the inspiration, “Maggie”!

So, the point after all of this…. Cruelty free products do not have to be expensive! There is a misconception that being a Cruelty Free Consumer and only using products that have not been tested on animals means spending extra money. THAT IS NOT THE CASE.
Cruelty Free Consumer sells over 30 brands and there are over 500+ brands certified by Leaping Bunny…. Thousands of choices exist from inexpensive to higher end. It’s up to you what products work best.

Just like wine… You can get a great find at a great price!

Thanks to my daughter, too, for her contribution with yet another story! Now I know, that in addition to being a cruelty free consumer….. I might be…. well, I am…A cruelty free mama too!

What products do you love at various price points and, of course,… Why? Let us know!

Don’t forget that now through November 2nd, log on to our Facebook page (Cruelty Free Consumer) for a chance to win Living Clays’ Starter Kit! ($40 value!)

We enjoyed a beautiful fall Saturday this weekend in Michigan! We were able to watch Tigers Baseball, take part in the neighborhood cleanup and enjoy a tour of our local nature center… whew… busy, but fun.

We also experienced… “Look mommy! The bee is pollinating!”

It’s nice seeing the addition of colorful mums to the yard. It’s also a sad reminder that summer is over when we’re cleaning up beds and pulling out watermelon, pepper, tomato and zucchini plants.

It offers a good lesson for me as well as the girls though and it’s always a treasure to see what “just grows overnight”. (ahh, the magic of being a kid!) Well, we know what to plant next year!

So, being that it’s now fall and a time for change….Cruelty Free Consumer’s making a small and fun change too!

Starting this month, we will be hosting guest bloggers. We have a few lined up already from some of our favorite cruelty free companies and organizations. This also means…. along with great information, product reviews and industry news, we will have gift certificates and sample giveaways!

We are excited and hope you are too.

AND…If you have not heard this yet…. We’ll say it again because we are thrilled to see this happen…

It’s our goal to be the largest online retailer of certified cruelty free products. We are certainly on our way and in addition to being able to offer all of these brands in one place…. Cruelty Free Consumer can and will give financially back to animal organizations. www.crueltyfreeconsumer.com/affiliate_info.asp

Tell us… who would you like to hear from and what kinds of products would you like us to review and maybe even give away?